| Multinational Corps North East | |
|---|---|
| Active | 18 September 1999 - present |
| Country | Germany, Poland, Denmark |
| HQ | Szczecin, Poland |
| Commanders | |
| Corps Commander | Lieutenant General Rainer Korff (GE)[1] |
| Deputy Corps Commander | Major General Ryszard Sorokosz (PL) |
| Chief of Staff | Brigadier General Morten Danielsson (DK) |
Multinational Corps Northeast was formed on 18 September 1999 at Szczecin, Poland, which became its headquarters. It evolved from what was for many years the only multinational corps in NATO, Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland (LANDJUT) (in its turn, a part of Allied Forces Northern Europe). From 1962 LANDJUT had been responsible for the defence of the Baltic Approaches from a headquarters at Rendsburg, Germany. It comprised the 6th Panzergrenadier Division and the Danish Jutland-Division.
A tri-national working group was established following the July 1997 decision that Poland was to be admitted to NATO with the aim of establishing the corps as part of NATO’s Main Defence Forces. Its missions are three-fold: to participate in the collective defence of NATO territory, under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, to contribute to multinational crisis management including peace support operations, and to provide command and control for humanitarian, rescue, and disaster relief operations.
Though it is a NATO formation, the Corps Convention is a trilateral agreement between the three nations. The positions of commander, deputy commander, and chief of staff rotate between the three nations. For common purposes of practice and training the corps was assigned to Joint Sub-Regional Command Northeast (JSRC NE), at Karup, Denmark. For Article 5 common defence purposes, the Corps was to have been assigned either to JSRC NE or the JSRC Centre at Heidelberg, Germany. Following the latest reorganisation, it would report if designated for operations to Allied Land Component Command Heidelberg. The 14th Panzer-Grenadier Division (14 PzGren Div) of the German Army used to be part of the Corps, but disbanded in the course of 2008.
Due to its geographical location, the only NATO HQ East of the former Iron Curtain, Multinational Corps North East has a key function in the integration of new NATO member states. This is reflected in the structure of its personnel. Officers and NCO's from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are serving at Multinational Corps North East. Furthermore, members of the United States Armed Forces are also attached to the corps.
From January to August 2007 a considerable number of personnel from Multinational Corps Northeast were put at the disposal of ISAF's headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.[2]
Contents |
Danish Division (HQ Haderslev) The organisation from 1997-2005 Mechanised Division
12th Mechanised Division (HQ Szczecin)